Grizzlies drawing little notice in All-Star game balloting

The 63rd NBA All-Star Game will be played Feb. 16 at New Orleans Arena. The league unveiled its 2014 All-Star ballot last month and then released the first returns of the balloting on Thursday. No Grizzlies player ranked among the top 15 frontcourt players or among the top 10 backcourt players in the Western Conference.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant lead the West after the first returns. Miami Heat forward LeBron James, the reigning NBA MVP and Finals MVP, is the overall NBA leader with 609,336 votes. Durant is second with 607,407 votes.

Balloting for fans to select the five starters, respectively, for the Eastern and Western Conference teams ends Jan. 20.

It appears that the closest the Griz will get to being in an all-star venue this season is tonight when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans at 7 p.m. in New Orleans Arena.

Every game day we'll clue you in on a few buzzy items dealing with the Griz and their opponent.

Here are "3 Things to Know for Your Griz Day."

1. Point guard Mike Conley is averaging a career-high 17.7 points per game and has seven games in which he's scored 20 points or more. It took Conley until March 9, 2013 in a game vs. New Orleans – his 59th game of the season – to record his seventh 20-plus scoring night last season. Also, the Griz already have 11 losses. Their 11th loss last year happened at Dallas on a Jan. 12 when Memphis had 24 wins.

2. The Pelicans entered the 2013-14 season with the fewest average games of NBA experience (163.9) among all NBA rosters. New Orleans also has talked about playing at a faster pace and the statistics bear that out.

The Pelicans' pace (possessions per 48 minutes) is 95.99. This is over 5 possessions more than last year when New Orleans ranked dead last in the NBA (30th) with a pace of 90.86 possessions per 48 minutes.

Through 20 games the Pelicans are averaging 103.4 points per game. New Orleans has not averaged more than 100 points per game since the 2009-10 season and the current pace would be the highest scoring average since the franchise has been in New Orleans.

The Pelicans rank second in the NBA in fast-break points per game. They average 17.7 per game, trailing only the Phoenix Suns.

3. Memphis owns the sixth-best road record in the NBA by percentage (.625). The Griz are the only team in the Western Conference with a better road record (5-3) than at home (5-8). They are just two wins shy of tying a franchise record with seven straight road victories.

There you go. A sample of what you need to know to get an early start on your Griz day.